These words refer to land lying along a body of water. Shore is the most general of these, referring to any sort of land that borders a large water mass, such as a lake or ocean: the shores of Sydney Harbour; the western shore of the Pacific. As can be seen, the word most strictly regards this meeting of land and water from the view of the limit set on the water. Coast reverse the view, indicating the limits set on the land. Also, coast is most pertinent to a long stretch of land taken as a whole, making it most appropriate in reference to land masses along an ocean: the New Zealand coast ; the towns along the Pacific coast . One would speak of the shore of a very small island, rather than of its coast .

In contrast to these words, bank specifically applies to any sort of land bordering a river: the banks of the Murray. Coast would never be used in this sense and shore seldom, perhaps only when emphasizing a river’s width: calling to him from the opposite shore of the river. Bank has an additional specific reference to a steep slope or just of land above the water’s edge: diving from the bank into the swimming hole. In this sense, the word would suggest a moderate just of earth beside a pool or river. If higher land or a stony outcropping beside a lake or tidal water is in question, such words as bluff or cliff would be more appropriate in terms of connotation. Beach contrasts sharply with bank , referring to a gradual slope, especially of sand, rather than to an earthy steepness. A beach may exist beside either fresh or salt water, a lake or ocean, or even along a river: a beach formed along the wide bend of a river; Pacific islands with naturally sandy beaches . Sometimes the word specifically suggests a sandy shore that has been designed for public use: opening two new beaches in the last three years.

Strand and littoral both apply mainly to ocean shores or at least to land along tidal water. Strand may now sound old-fashioned or stilted, but it does refer specifically to the area of land between high and low tide: The tide being out, we walked along the strand . Littoral can refer to exactly the same area as strand but without risking a stilted tone: sea pools along the littoral where many sea creatures live between high tides. It is extremely formal and technical in tone and can refer also to both the strip of land and the shallow water that lie to either side of the water line: oceanographic and ecological studies of the Aleutian littoral .